[RAPGOD]

OMG, thanks for suggestion of Purity Ring, just had a listen to Shrines on Spotify Free, a bit weird for me I'm afraid but all suggestions welcome. Can I counter with Beach House? And Warpaint's albums, 'Heads Up' and 'Warpaint'. They played at Glastonbury this summer, that's how I came across them, from the comfort of my sofa.

No problem haha. I'll check them out on Tidal when I'm home

 

[RAPGOD]

i was actually in the mastering studio when their first record was being mastered. the mastering engineer was saying how he was blown away by the sound design and spatial quality of Corin's production.

Wow you know them?

I would have been too. It's amazing and haven't heard this type of music done like this before, very unique.

 

[ljnew]

I had a AK380 and currently owns WM1Z and Hugo 2, I have also tried both SP1000(SS and Cu). FWIW I didn't think either of the SPK was better than my WM1Z, just different.

It boils down to what sort of usage you are thinking of. If you are using the devices as stationary sources most of the time, then no question - get the Hugo 2, it is better than the SPK in its processing features (using crossfade with headphones is amazing) which in turn is better than the AK380. You only really want the AK380 or the SPK if you really need that one device that fits neatly into your pants back pocket.

I have a strong feeling that you'll end up with two bits of kits in the end - not because of the sound, but practicality. As the marketing tag line goes the Hugo 2 is transportable, to make it a portable player you'll be strapping bits and piece of stuff to it. I got the Hugo 2 to replace my Audiolab M-DAC to feed my Woo Audio WA2 as a stationary rig, and the possibility of using it for long travel trips (won't be much, but at least twice a year). For every day moving around I'm sticking with my WM1Z.

So besides portability, hugo 2 sounds the best? Hugo 2 better than sony wm1z

 

[ratrace]

Enjoying my Hugo 2 at work.. Simply amazing!!

 

[vo_obgyn]

I have asked Chord about this. The warranty is valid in the country of purchase only. So US dealer can choose not to service if the Hugo 2 is purchased outside US. However, you can send it back to Chord UK and they will service it at a cost.

Thanks for the answer!

 

[soullinker20]

In the past I have talked about this kind of thing - it's when the loudest instrument dominates, and your attention constantly shifts too the loudest instrument. If you listen to live unamplified music, a quiet instrument will play in the background and is unaffected by an extremely loud one; once you recognise this behaviour you can't go back to other DAC's.

Technically, it's primarily down to two reasons - lack of noise floor modulation - and the WTA filter. That sense of tangibility, solidity and instrument power is even more enhanced when you connect an M scaler. I added that comment not as a cheap M scaler advert, but to illustrate the point that reconstructing transients more accurately gives better instrument separation and focus, and reduces the dominance effect.

This constant switching of attention to the loudest instrument is a key destroyer of musicality, and it's the second biggest source of listening fatigue - the first being a sound that is obviously hard and bright!

This was very obvious when I tried switching from SP1k alone and using Hugo 2 with my UE 18+ Pro. With Hugo 2, I hear everything balanced no instrument stands in the way of other. I thought I wasn't going to use my Hugo 2 for ciem/iems and just for headphones... I was wrong

I remember last month when I had someone audition this setup using my sony ex1000s. For the first time the guy was surprised to hear everything and he thought it was the way that it should be heard. After that, Hugo 2 has got his attention and he also has a Home theatre business.

 

[tekkster]

Very interesting read,I've just bought the focal clear pro but I'm gonna wait til my heimdall 2 cable comes before I have a proper listen with my Hugo 2

I would be very interested in hearing your impressions of the Clear on the Hugo 2. I'm debating selling the Utopia and getting the Clear instead. I really enjoyed the Elear on the H2, but like others, I listen to a lot of female vocals, and female vocals seem to me to be a little deeper than they're supposed to be on the Elear. Violins sound closer to violas to me too. Which, I could get used to, I guess, and the bass "energy" really is fun (without being muddy like some of my other slightly bassier headphones). The Utopias on the H2 really make me wince with, say, Lindsay Stirling, Vanessa Mae, and sometimes vocals too, like Celtic Woman. The Hugo 2's green filter and red filter haven't helped much as the wince-worthiness (at least to my ears) is too much to be managed by those filters. I'm pretty sure that I need to sell those. I can also EQ it too, but maybe Swinsian's eq isn't so good, or I'm just not doing it right (it just sounds lower, but forced lower, I dunno, can't explain it right). But with multiple sources, I can't eq them all and have it work right.

Given my love for the H2, and searching for a better pairing with it, I'm seriously considering the Clear, but would be grateful for any impressions you might have.

 

[flyte3333]

Thanks guys above, I'll try 4 clicks.

First impressions, sounds so analogue compared to my M-DAC+. Sounds like vinyl but without the drawbacks and everything sounds just right and non-fatiguing.

Dunno if anyone listens to Purity Ring here but it sounds so euphoric with Hugo 2! It's like I'm being transported to another dimension lol.

Listening to 'another eternity' at the moment. Cool album, thanks for the recommendation.

Epic list of questions to Rob a few posts up. Very nerdy questions, very cool hehe. I love the nitty gritty explanations that Rob gets into with his designs and measurements etc. The more I know/learn about the product, the prouder I feel to own it.

Regarding your calculations, I think you forgot to carry the 1..

 

[nanaholic]

So besides portability, hugo 2 sounds the best? Hugo 2 better than sony wm1z

Hugo 2 has better detail retrieval and instrument separation and is more neutral.

 

[miketlse]

I would be very interested in hearing your impressions of the Clear on the Hugo 2. I'm debating selling the Utopia and getting the Clear instead. I really enjoyed the Elear on the H2, but like others, I listen to a lot of female vocals, and female vocals seem to me to be a little deeper than they're supposed to be on the Elear. Violins sound closer to violas to me too. Which, I could get used to, I guess, and the bass "energy" really is fun (without being muddy like some of my other slightly bassier headphones). The Utopias on the H2 really make me wince with, say, Lindsay Stirling, Vanessa Mae, and sometimes vocals too, like Celtic Woman. The Hugo 2's green filter and red filter haven't helped much as the wince-worthiness (at least to my ears) is too much to be managed by those filters. I'm pretty sure that I need to sell those. I can also EQ it too, but maybe Swinsian's eq isn't so good, or I'm just not doing it right (it just sounds lower, but forced lower, I dunno, can't explain it right). But with multiple sources, I can't eq them all and have it work right.

Given my love for the H2, and searching for a better pairing with it, I'm seriously considering the Clear, but would be grateful for any impressions you might have.

@JaZZ and @Music Alchemist have posted equalisation profiles for the elear. Maybe equalisation is something for you to explore.

 

[Currawong]

I know you'd rather hear from Rob. But, my amateur oppinion is it seems to help. It certainly took the harsher edge of my Hugo1. H2 might be another story. But, I haven't reached around the back of my tower to A/B the sound. But, I use the Jitterbug and original Regen, and I think they help. FWIW

I recall Rob posting something back when the 2Cute was current about how it was possible to have better isolation on the USB with the desktop versions of his DACs than the portables like the Hugo. This correlates with both our experiences that the Hugo 2 (and Mojo) benefit from a good transport/source.

The Utopias on the H2 really make me wince with, say, Lindsay Stirling, Vanessa Mae, and sometimes vocals too, like Celtic Woman.

How are you connecting your Hugo 2? If you see the above discussion, if you're connecting directly to a computer with a noisy USB output, that could be the problem.

 

[skypablo]

Hello, a question about Desktop Mode. I understand how it works from R.Watts posts before. I would like to know if desktop mode is disabled when:
1) I simply switch off the Hugo2 leaving power supply on.
2) I detach the power supply
And if desktop mode is activated if:
3) connect the power supply and leave it on for at least 24 hours with hugo2 on
4) connect the power supply and leave it on for at least 24 hours with hugo2 also off and on

at what percentage is the battery kept while desktop mode is on?

Thank you

 

[paul2qute]

I would be very interested in hearing your impressions of the Clear on the Hugo 2. I'm debating selling the Utopia and getting the Clear instead. I really enjoyed the Elear on the H2, but like others, I listen to a lot of female vocals, and female vocals seem to me to be a little deeper than they're supposed to be on the Elear. Violins sound closer to violas to me too. Which, I could get used to, I guess, and the bass "energy" really is fun (without being muddy like some of my other slightly bassier headphones). The Utopias on the H2 really make me wince with, say, Lindsay Stirling, Vanessa Mae, and sometimes vocals too, like Celtic Woman. The Hugo 2's green filter and red filter haven't helped much as the wince-worthiness (at least to my ears) is too much to be managed by those filters. I'm pretty sure that I need to sell those. I can also EQ it too, but maybe Swinsian's eq isn't so good, or I'm just not doing it right (it just sounds lower, but forced lower, I dunno, can't explain it right). But with multiple sources, I can't eq them all and have it work right.

Given my love for the H2, and searching for a better pairing with it, I'm seriously considering the Clear, but would be grateful for any impressions you might have.

Before I comment mate this is just my opinion but I was in the same boat as you except I had the Chord 2 qute rather than the Hugo 2 but I found I was wincing listening to the music,in the end I found I stopped listening to my headphones and just played through my speakers,I'm sure focal utopia are one of the best headphones out there but for me after a brief listen to my clear pro the sound is far more enjoyable relaxing,I feel the detail is all there but not as exaggerated as on the Utopia,the bass to my ears is better too and deeper,I would advise you to have a long think before you sell the Utopia but by what your telling me I would get the clear and never look back.I know I could be taking a risk buying the heimdall 2 cable for my clear pro but because the sound is far more relaxed were I'm not wincing I can only assume is will sound more detailed and open but without excessive brightness

 

[Chikolad]

Hello, a question about Desktop Mode. I understand how it works from R.Watts posts before. I would like to know if desktop mode is disabled when:
1) I simply switch off the Hugo2 leaving power supply on.
2) I detach the power supply
And if desktop mode is activated if:
3) connect the power supply and leave it on for at least 24 hours with hugo2 on
4) connect the power supply and leave it on for at least 24 hours with hugo2 also off and on

at what percentage is the battery kept while desktop mode is on?

Thank you

2 + 4
In other words, desktop mode is only affected by whether you're connected to a power source continually, and is not affected by whether the unit is on or not.
I'm not sure that the battery is kept at any percentage. In my experience, after the unit was on and plugged in for several days (i.e. in desktop mode the whole time, but never turned off so the battery wasn't charged during that time), when I disconnected it, it was already on green (< 80%).
EDIT: That's why when the unit is turned off it will recharge the battery again till 100%.

 

[tekkster]

Before I comment mate this is just my opinion but I was in the same boat as you except I had the Chord 2 qute rather than the Hugo 2 but I found I was wincing listening to the music,in the end I found I stopped listening to my headphones and just played through my speakers,I'm sure focal utopia are one of the best headphones out there but for me after a brief listen to my clear pro the sound is far more enjoyable relaxing,I feel the detail is all there but not as exaggerated as on the Utopia,the bass to my ears is better too and deeper,I would advise you to have a long think before you sell the Utopia but by what your telling me I would get the clear and never look back.I know I could be taking a risk buying the heimdall 2 cable for my clear pro but because the sound is far more relaxed were I'm not wincing I can only assume is will sound more detailed and open but without excessive brightness

Thank you, that helps.